My cousin and I against the stranger...

David Hurst speaks . However I disagree with him on a particular point. The 'Arab system', he speaks of, is indeed in crisis point. However, I feel his fears of an Iranian dominated Shiite arc across the Middle East, and indeed those of Saudi Arabia are unfounded. It is much better for the Arabs to bandwagon with the Iranians in their ongoing conflict with Israel. Not only does Israel represent an existential threat to the Arab world through its aggressive Zionist policies and nuclear weapons, but as a Western settler state, it's presence will always give powerful nations in the West a foothold for intervention and meddling in the Middle East. Sunni's may have theological differences with their Shiite cousins, but as we say in the Middle East, my brother and I against my cousin; my cousin and I against the stranger.